120 CORPORATE GOVERNANCE & SUSTAINABILITY DIRECTORS’ REPORT Reserves Movements in the reserves of the Group and the Company during the year are set out in notes 34 and 35 to the financial statements. Share Capital During the year under review, pursuant to the share buy- back programme announced by the Company on 30th August 2024 (“Share Buy-back Programme”), the Company bought back an aggregate of 47,778,600 shares on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (the “Stock Exchange”) at an aggregate cost (excluding transaction fees) of HK$750 million. All the shares bought back were subsequently cancelled. The Board is of the view that the implementation of the Share Buy-back Programme is in the best interests of the Company and the shareholders as a whole. Share buy- backs demonstrate the Company’s confidence in its business outlook and prospects and should, ultimately, benefit the Company and create value for the shareholders. Details of share buy-backs made during the year and the Company’s share capital are set out in note 33 to the financial statements. Save as disclosed above, neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries had purchased, sold or redeemed any of the Company’s shares during the year and the Group has not adopted any share option scheme. At 31st December 2024, taking into account the shares bought back and cancelled, 5,814,221,400 shares were in issue (31st December 2023: 5,850,000,000 shares). The term of the Share Buy-Back Programme will expire on the date falling one day prior to the 2025 Annual General Meeting. Accounting Policies The material accounting policies of the Group are set out in the relevant notes to the financial statements (if they relate to a particular item) and in the section of this annual report headed Accounting Policies. Auditors PricewaterhouseCoopers retire and, being eligible, offer themselves for re-appointment. A resolution for the re-appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers as auditors of the Company is to be proposed at the forthcoming annual general meeting. Financial Review A review of the consolidated results, financial position and cash flows of the Group is shown in the section of this annual report headed Financial Review. A ten-year financial summary of the results and of the assets and liabilities of the Group is shown in the section of this annual report headed Ten-Year Financial Summary. Corporate Governance The Company complied with all the code provisions set out in the Corporate Governance Code (the “CG Code”) contained in Part 2 of Appendix C1 to the Listing Rules throughout the year covered by the annual report. Details of the Company’s corporate governance practices are set out in the section of this annual report headed Corporate Governance. Environmental, Social and Governance For the year covered by the annual report, the Company has complied with all the applicable provisions set out in Part C of the Environmental, Social and Governance Reporting Guide contained in Appendix C2 to the Listing Rules, which is applicable for the year ended 31st December 2024. The Company has also referenced the climate-related disclosures set out in Part D of the revised Environmental, Social and Governance Reporting Code contained in Appendix C2, which became effective for financial years commencing on or after 1st January 2025. These disclosures are included in the Sustainability Report 2024 of the Company. Donations During the year, the Group made donations for charitable purposes of HK$90 million and donations towards various scholarships of HK$0.3 million.